Nominees for the July HAIX Hero of the Month have been selected and introduced in the last three weeks – and boy have their communities been rooting for them. Now, we want to hear more from the overall law enforcement community, and from their friends, colleagues, and family members.
Take a moment to review each of our hero nominees below and let us know who your favorite is on our recent Facebook post here. Or, if you don’t have a Facebook page, let us know who your favorite is in our comment section below!
Officer Amanda Clay
Our first nominee is from the Alpharetta (GA) Department of Public Safety. She is a 10-year veteran of law enforcement but she started her career much earlier as an Explorer and is now one of the advisors for the Alpharetta DPS Explorer program.
This hero is beloved by community members of all ages and was nominated specifically for her long-standing commitment to the young members of her community through her 16-year involvement with the Explorer program and her eight years of working with the iCan Bike program. The iCan Bike program provides a platform for special needs children to participate with their typically developing peers for the first time in their lives by learning to ride bicycles. She has even purchased bikes for those that cannot afford them with her own money. Clay has not only brightened the lives of these children and their families but improved them for many years to come.
Selfless, committed and caring – this certainly spells hero to us.
Officer Travis Goodson
The second nominee is from Albany, GA, and is known in all parts of the country because of his #hugacop campaign has gone viral!
In an effort to spread some much-needed love and positivity, he has led quite a few initiatives to bring joy and long-lasting positive effects to his community. He has brought together volunteers to revitalize a housing area and to conduct other community day cleanups and has organized a child seat safety education event for low-income mothers.
Hoping for a ripple effect throughout the country, this innovative, change-making patrol officer is helping improve the narrative between community members and law enforcement wherever he goes.
Living up to his last name with his outstanding commitment to law enforcement and members of his community alike, Travis Goodson also gets the #hero stamp from us.
Chief Jerry Bellak
Our third and final nominee serves as the Chief of the Indian Lake (PA) Police Department. Notably, Chief Jerry Bellak was nominated by the Somerset County community's mayor, Michael Miscoe. Mayor Miscoe credits Bellak with transforming the Indian Lake Police Department since becoming chief two years ago. He has done everything from solving every single break-in since becoming chief, to pulling a school bus out of a ditch during a winter storm and finding a lost dog for a grateful resident.
He has taken his role as an exemplary law enforcement officer to a new level by instituting the Stop and Talk program and a crime watch program to engage with residents.
“Valuable, competent, and effective”… anyone else thinking “hero”?
Though these nominees are all very different, they have at least one important thing in common – they have demonstrated they are willing to go above and beyond the already heroic duties of law enforcement. Join us and give these heroes some love in the comment section.
Check back in later this week to see who the final winner is!
